What Don’t You Know about Chinese Outings? By ROBERT PARKINSON

TGIF! Now that the workweek is over, you might be wondering which bar or club to spend a fantastic Friday evening with your Chinese colleagues. Sorry to pop your bubble, but you may be in for a disappointment when the “nice Chinese guys” at work huffily decline your invitation. For a newcomer to China it is completely normal to be refused at first. However, if you don’t sit down and ask yourself why Chinese colleagues are declining your invitation, you will probably remain an outsider who knows nothing about working with the Chinese.

I have always paid careful attention to  interactions between Chinese colleagues, employees, business partners and families over the past decade. So I would like to share some of my observations about Chinese people’s outings in order to help expats build better friendships and work relationships with their colleagues and employees.

First things first. Let me start by introducing the most popular outing activity among Chinese youngsters (and most middle-agers actually, whether they admit it or not) – KTV. Back in the UK there is nowhere to sing songs with a group of friends in private rooms. Instead we have bars with places for people to sing songs with microphones to everyone in the bar. So for those who haven’t tried karaoke yet, why not ask your Chinese colleagues to a nice KTV friendly? There are many kinds of drinks at most KTVs. And buffets are free or very cheap at some KTVs. No need to worry; there are plenty of English songs. I am sure most expats would enjoy this type of outing. After you hang out with Chinese colleagues a few times you will find that your friendships at work are automatically strengthened to a new level. Weird, but true!

Expats who have been in China for a year or so may find it difficult to befriend male Chinese colleagues. Married guys, or guys in relationships, are pre-occupied by wives or girlfriends. Singles spend their time with computer games or sleeping. However, what expats do not know is that Chinese men actually quite enjoy hanging out with each other, not in bars and clubs, but in restaurants, barbecues, pool houses or bowling clubs. The common hobby of a lot of Chinese men is to “kan da shan,” casual chat among friends. So having a Friday pool night can be a great choice to get better acquainted with male Chinese colleagues. If you are a smoker (of course, better if not), then you have no problem joining the “smoke together” everyday and “kan da shan” at the same time.

In recent years, a new activity called Takagism has gained wide popularity among young Chinese people. A group of 3-10 participants are locked in a room. They need to work together to find clues to get out of the room in a limited amount of time. From the viewpoint of team-building, Takagism is a great activity. Personally, I think doing Takagism with Chinese employees is beneficial for expats, too. In the process of figuring out the escape plan, expats can experience how their Chinese employees understand teamwork and problem-solving skills. There is not much cultural communication going on in the process either, so expats will not feel uncomfortable at all.

A simple after-work activity with Chinese colleagues is watching movies. Whenever there is a latest 3D, or 3D IMAX American blockbuster, groups of employees will book their time to go to movie theaters after work. In my company, one of our employee incentive plans is to give 3D movies tickets. We particularly encourage staff members who work at the same team to go together. In the West, people prefer to watch movies at home with friends or family, in China it is often a group activity with friends or workmates. Though it might be difficult for new foreign staff members to change their preferences so quickly, I do want to emphasize that joining Chinese colleagues for an English movie can be fun.

As expats start to befriend local colleagues, they will discover a range of activities that their Chinese colleagues do after work. Everyone comes to China to find his fortune, but the word can mean “material wealth” or “spiritual wealth.” By hanging out with local colleagues often, foreigners will not only understand Chinese culture well but also learn how to deal with Chinese people. Isn’t that the fortune you should find? Anyway, why not start with your Chinese colleagues this weekend?

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